


it took a missile threat for you to confess

by srogersjbarnes



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Happy Ending, Hawaiian False Missile Alert, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24773497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/srogersjbarnes/pseuds/srogersjbarnes
Summary: Steve and Bucky went on a graduation trip as best friends across the country. However, Bucky harboured a secret yearn for their relationship to be something more ever since he realized his feelings for Steve three years ago. On January 13, 2018, they finally made their way to Hawaii when they received the shocking notification that a missile was inbound. Amidst the panic, would Bucky finally gain the courage to confess his love to Steve before it was too late?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57





	it took a missile threat for you to confess

**Author's Note:**

> I was vacationing in Hawaii back in January 2018 when the state underwent a traumatic event in the form of the Hawaiian False Missile Alert. I was fortunate to have avoided the entire scare as I slept through all of it. But talking to many people and watching the news coverage afterward made me realize that I lived through quite an extraordinary event.
> 
> I have no intention of trivializing the trauma that some may have experienced, especially in relation to painful memories of Pearl Harbour in WW2, but I have always wondered what my reaction would be if I was awake and saw the message that day. I only dared to use this event as a backdrop since it has been more than 2.5 years ago and that no one was killed/seriously injured from the event.
> 
> Therefore, please proceed with caution if this would act as a trigger to bad memories.

For the last three years, Bucky knew he was unequivocally in love with his best friend.

Unfortunately for him, Steve did not love him in return.

How did he know? Because throughout their eighteen years of existence on this planet, they were best friends for fifteen of them. Bucky was right beside Steve when he was a scrawny, little kid that picked fights he couldn’t win in the name of justice. Bucky was there when Steve transformed into the all-American boy with wavy, blonde hair, toned muscles, and an adorable dimple that everyone loved. Bucky had the entire front-row to himself as Steve’s romance-of-the-century with Peggy ended with a broken heart and Peggy returning to UK alone. Bucky was also there when he cradled Steve through those endless nights as he helped glue Steve’s devastated heart piece by piece.

It would be correct to say that Bucky _knew_ everything there was to know about Steve. 

So, no. Steve was definitely not interested in him.

And it was miserable to hide his debilitating crush from the one person whom he shared everything with and wanted to love with every part of his body and soul.

But why was Bucky currently sun-bathing with his best-friend on a beach in Hawaii like they were a couple on their honeymoon? Well, Bucky never claimed to be self-preserving, least of all with Steve. Therefore, when Steve proposed (read: demanded) to go on a grad trip across the country, Bucky didn’t really have a choice but to say yes (not that he would have said no anyway).

There was a content sigh beside him. Bucky turned his head and saw Steve lying on the towel serenely. Even through the tinted lens of his sunglasses, Bucky could see the water droplets glistening brilliantly on Steve’s lightly tanned skin, which only accentuated his broad, muscled pectorals and abs. There was a fine trail of hair around the navel that extended downwards, disappearing underneath the swimming trunks…

But, of course, Bucky did not allow his mind to wander there.

Steve was his best friend and the most amazing thing that happened in his life.

And that had to be enough.

“Buck?” Steve said lazily.

“Hhm?”

“This detour to Hawaii was the best idea I've ever had, Buck,” Steve said with a dreamy sigh. “Look at this! The sand, the ocean, the sun…”

“And most importantly, you,” thought Bucky.

“And having my best guy with me. What else does a guy need?”

“I could use a beer or two,” Bucky said.

“Come on, Buck,” Steve laughed. “You know we can’t drink. Especially not on a bea- _Psst!_ – Buck - Eleven o’clock!”

Bucky looked over at that direction. There saw a tall, muscular man with dark hair bunched up together in a man-bun. In his right arm was a surfboard. Bucky rolled his eyes and laid back down.

“What? Not your type?”

“Cut it, Stevie,” Bucky said, slightly annoyed. “That guy is obviously straight. Also, can’t I just enjoy a vacation with my best pal in peace?”

“I’ve never seen you date anyone before,” Steve pouted.

“Because none of them are you,” Bucky thought.

Steve took the silence in strides, however. “I promised to find you the perfect guy before the end of this trip. I will keep my word.”

“Why don’t you worry about yourself first? You’ve not dated since Peggy left you.” Bucky regretted his words as they left his big, fat mouth.

“Low blow, you jerk,” Steve gave Bucky a stinging, but deserving, slap on the left shoulder. “Anyway, do you want to go for another dip before we head back for breakfast?”

“I’m game -”

Just as Bucky got onto his feet, Steve shoved him hard on the shoulders and caused him to tumble back onto his beach towel. “Race you there!” he shouted.

“Cheater!” Bucky roared as he sprinted down the golden beach after the boy and right into the embrace of the clear, cerulean ocean.

Once Bucky waddled into the waist-high water, he was immediately assaulted by a relentless barrage of salty water. He retaliated with his own splashes. After an intense exchange of fire, Bucky went on the offensive and lunged at the source, managing to wrap his arms around the other boy’s torso and tickled him.

“Got you, little punk,” Bucky laughed as Steve squirmed in his restraint.

“Stop it, you jerk!” shouted Steve in between laughter and gasps of air.

Bucky stilled his attacks just to realize that his entire body was pressed up against Steve’s back. At that, Bucky immediately moved backwards only to catch his foot on a rock and crash into the water behind.

“Aw, did someone trip over a _teeny_ rock?” Steve cooed as Bucky resurfaced. Bucky knew his hair was plastered like kelp onto his face in the most unflattering way. But when he saw Steve’s bedazzling smile, he immediately forgot all about his plight.

Just then, there was a loud, blaring siren originating from somewhere beyond the jungle, likely by the hotel complex. They wiped their heads back towards land and saw the few people on the beach looking at their phones questioningly. One of them shouted at surfer and they all started to pack up.

“What is happening?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know. It could be a drill?”

“Don’t they give advance notice for these things?”

“Either way. We better get out of the water first,” Bucky said as he waddled towards the shore. “Come on, Stevie.”

By the time they reached their towels, the few bathers were all making the twenty-minute trek back to the accommodations, leaving them with an empty beach. A series of intermittent pings from his phone caught Bucky’s attention as he picked it up.

On the lock screen, there was a large blob notification and right below it was the constantly renewing flash of incoming message.

There were fourteen messages from Rebecca and counting.

Bucky expanded the chain and saw the frantic messages:

> “OMG, my BFF just psted on fb that there isa missle strke heading yr way. Get Steve and go find shelter!” _\- 8:15am_
> 
> “Call once u get somewhere safe.” _\- 8:15am_
> 
> “Underground/ basement.” _– 8:15am_
> 
> “U only have 20 mins!” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “TXT” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “ME” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “IF U” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “SEE THIS” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “MSG” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “PLS DON’T BE DEAD” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “BUCKY” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “ANSWER” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “ME” _– 8:16am_
> 
> “DAMN IT” _– 8:17am_
> 
> “…” _\- writing_

Bucky quickly dialed his sister’s number and as it rang, Steve patted him on the shoulder. He turned around to observe his friend’s stunned expression.

“Buck, you need to see this.”

Steve thrust the cracked screen into Bucky’s face as he read the text.

> “ **Emergency Alert** : BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” _– 8:07am_

Suddenly, the dial tone by his ear turned into a muted static as his world zoomed in onto the incomprehensible passage.

_‘Missile? Hawaii? North Korea? Nuclear War?’_

Chaotic thoughts swirled inside his mind as he turned to stare at his best friend’s scared and lost expression -

“Bucky? Bucky?!”

Rebecca’s voice snapped him out of his daze as he said, “Becca, it’s me -”

“Thank God, Bucky!” the relief in her voice was evident. “Listen to me carefully, you and Steve have to find shelter -”

“We can’t make it,” Bucky said, surprised at how calm his voice was.

“What? W…What do you mean?”

“We are too far away from any building, Becca,” Bucky said.

“Nononono, you still have ten minutes, Bucky. Listen to me,” her stuttering voice was filled with panic and frustration. Bucky could imagine the tears welling up in her eyes on the other end of the line.

“Becca, grab mom and dad -”

“Can you listen to me for just one goddamned time?!” Rebecca’s scream was followed by a muffled but audible sob.

“Becca, we can’t make it back to the hotel in ten minutes. I want to speak with mom and dad, please.”

Bucky could hear the slamming of the door and series of thumping sounds. He turned to Steve and said, “Stevie, call your mom yet?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’r-”

“I’m fine. Go!” Bucky said as the phone cackled back to life.

“James,” Winnifred’s soothing yet disapproving voice brought tears to his eyes. “What did you do to make your sister cry?”

“Mom, are dad and Becca next to you?”

“Yes -”

“Can you put the phone on speaker?” He felt his lips trembling as he fought for control.

“James, what -”

“Just do it, mom. Please,” Bucky pleaded.

His urgent and sincere tone must have alarmed his mother as she did without further objection.

“The speaker is on,” she said softly.

“Mom, Becca… dad. I just want to say I love you, and what I’m about to say is not a cruel practical joke…” Bucky could hear the tremor in his voice from the shaking of his entire body. He placed an arm on the nearby palm tree to steady himself. “… Steve and I just received an emergency alert on our phone saying that there is a missile strike aimed at Hawaii. It’s real. Everyone’s phone received the alert, the sirens are on, a lot people are running for shelter… It’s supposed to hit us in less than ten minutes.”

There was only silence.

“Mom?” Bucky asked frantically. “Are you still there?”

“Yes, yes. We’re here.”

Bucky released a shuddering breath he did not know he was holding.

“I love you, mom. So, so much. Please don’t be too sad, okay?”

Tears were streaming messily down his cheeks now.

“Mom?”

“Don’t say something silly like… like that,” her mother’s shaking voice said.

“I need you to promise me. Mom, please.”

“Hon, I -”

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME!” Bucky yelled angrily.

“Yes.”

That word dissipated all his anger.

“I love you, mom. Becca, please take care of mom and dad when I’m not there. Okay? I need to hear you say yes.”

There was a short cackle and Bucky feared that the connection was lost. But Rebecca’s voice came through.

“I… I will, Buck. You’ll be fin-”

“Dad… I know I’m a disappointment to you because I’m gay. I know we argued a lot but I know you are trying your best…” Bucky was choking up, his voice thick with emotion that was garbling his words. “… I love you, dad… and I hope y… you l…love me too.”

“Son, I…” There was a heavy sigh. “You’ll always be my son. I might not agree with your… choice…”

“It’s Steve. It was only him and it will only ever be him, even if he never loves me back.”

“We’ll talk more when you come home… crack open a couple beers chatting on the porch.”

Bucky let off a wet snort. “I can’t run away from the missile like you did with the feral dog in God-forsaken Mississippi.”

There was a faint chuckle and Bucky smiled.

“I love you, son, always. Just know that.”

“You too, dad.”

Bucky wiped the disgusting snot that was dripping from his nostrils. He knew that the missile would hit any moment now and he didn’t want them to hear him… hear him…

With faked cheeriness, he said, “Steve is calling me, I should hang up now.”

“James,” his mother called out desperately, “Don’t end -”

“I’ll call you when everything is over, mom,” Bucky lied. “Promise.”

There were only muffled sobs from the phone.

“Tell Steve we love him,” his mom said thickly.

“I will.”

“Buck-”

What Rebecca was about to say, Bucky would never know as he pressed on the “end call” button. Staring at the lock screen with the alert starring at him mockingly, Bucky finally allowed all the pain, sorrow, fear, and regret overwhelm him as he collapsed onto the sand.

He thought he was going to cry harder, but he only felt numb… cold… alone…

Then, something warm, comforting, enveloped him entirely.

“Buck! Stay with me, Buck!”

Bucky looked up to those beautiful, green eyes that mesmerized him for as long as he remembered.

“I’m always with you, Stevie,” Bucky said softly as he reached his arm up to caress the boy’s face. There were hints of roughness from the day-old gruff along Steve’s jaw and the contrasting softness on his cheek. “‘Til the end of the line, remember?”

Those eyes were glistening with tears as Steve repeated with a whisper, “‘Til the end of the line.”

“Well, since this looks like the end of the line,” Bucky said. “There’s something I need to do before I lose my chance.”

He surged forward and pressed his lips against Steve’s. It was just a chaste kiss, but it felt like heaven to him. It felt so overwhelmingly good, so natural to him, that he wanted to cry out in happiness.

Steve’s lips were everything he imagined them to be, and more. They were warm, soft, firm - perhaps a little chappy - but Bucky didn’t mind at all. Especially since it was beyond his wildest dreams for Steve to be kissing him back. Maybe Steve was indulging him, humouring him, pitying him… but Bucky would take whatever Steve was willing to give him. No matter how pathetic that made him.

When they finally parted, Bucky smiled sadly and said, “I regret not doing that earlier.”

“Buck…” Steve whispered, “I regret that too.”

Bucky’s eyes widened comically, “B…But I… you… you are straight!”

“I thought I was, too,” Steve said haltingly. “But when Peggy left… and you were there putting me back together, piece by piece, I… I realized something for myself. While I loved Peggy, there was a person that I loved _more_. And that person was beside me my entire life.”

“But you never said anything!” Bucky said, now gripping Steve’s shoulders tightly. Steve’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.

“I… I just thought you were not interested in me… and you’re my best friend – my _only_ friend,” Steve revealed. “I can’t afford to make things awkward and lose you.”

“We are both idiots,” Bucky chuckled wetly.

“We are.”

Bucky leaned forward for a second kiss. And this time, Steve met him in the middle. It was much more passionate but also every single bit as magical as the first.

Finally, Steve pulled away, flushed, and sat down next to him. Shuffling slightly so he was partly behind Bucky, Steve wrapped his arms around the other boy and burrowed his face into the nook of his neck. He breathed in the calming, familiar scent of Bucky as they watched the morning sun and picturesque waters on the empty beach.

It was so beautiful that neither of them could believe the world was going to end as they knew it.

“Buck, I’m sorry that we are here and not back at home -”

“I’m not,” Bucky said with a smile as he snuggled closer into Steve’s body, “I’m just glad you are here with me. Right here, right now.”

***

There was a loud, retching noise from Rebecca’s throat as she snatched the bag of chips from Bucky’s hand.

“And then, they didn’t end up dying so now _I_ need to suffer from their disgustingly sweet behaviour. The end.”

Bucky kicked up his feet and thrust it at her stomach in protest.

“Mom never taught you to be this rude,” he said.

“You know what’s rude? You ending the call on me,” she retorted.

There was a gentle rumble from Steve’s chuckle. Bucky looked up angrily with a biting remark on his tongue, but then he was distracted by that stupid cleft on his boyfriend’s chin.

Steve! His boyfriend! Who would have thought?! At least Bucky didn’t.

“I think you lost his attention, Rebecca,” George said from the armchair across them.

Another unexpected result of the death scare caused by a careless operator was the mending of Bucky's relationship with his dad. Bucky supposed that the possibility of death had a way of putting things into perspective.

“Whatever. I liked him better when he was actually _good_ at riling me up instead of only making gooey eyes with Steve like he is now.”

“Well, take this then,” Steve said as he looked down at Bucky with a mischievous grin. The blonde-haired boy leaned down and captured Bucky's lips with his.

Rebecca's shrieks of agony rang around the room as George said, “Let's try to keep it PG around here.”

“Yes, sir,” Steve said.

The two boys shared a secret smile. Life was good.


End file.
